A newly-released book about the making of the MCU reveals that the Russo Brothers almost quit during the making of Captain America: Civil War over creative differences. The Russos have become synonymous with the MCU since they directed four films in the franchise, including the climax of The Infinity Saga – Infinity War and Endgame. But this doesn’t mean that they have always agreed with the Marvel head honchos.
The new book entitled The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe gives details of an ultimatum issued by the directing brothers over the finale of the film. The Russos were determined that Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and Captain America (Chris Evans) would come to blows in the denouement of Civil War. But the ‘Marvel Creative Committee’ wanted them to team up to fight a bunch of Super Soldiers.
According to Collider, Joe Russo states in the book that; “We reached a point where we said, out loud in a room, ‘We’re not interested in continuing as directors of this movie if it is going to be about managing politics and a third act.”
Anthony Russo adds to his brother’s statement; “And I think Kevin [Feige] was very energized by that. And also, maybe it gave him some leverage in the situation, because we were so clear about our point of view.”
Ultimately, Feige sided with the Russos, but the debate went all the way up to Disney’s Chief Creative Officer, who also agreed with the directors in the end. Captain America: Civil War led to the dissolution of the Marvel Creative Committee, giving Kevin Feige full control of the MCU.
The Russos’ future in the MCU is said to be currently in doubt, at least partly due to Scarlett Johansson’s now-settled lawsuit against Disney. However, they have just wrapped filming on what is reportedly one of Netflix’s most expensive movies so far – The Gray Man – starring Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling.